


Dig Up Our Roses

by Icarus (Slickarus)



Series: Do They Think We Want This? [4]
Category: Frühlings Erwachen | Spring Awakening - Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: Also for some reason I wrote it kind of in a formal style?, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Grief but positive turn, Mentions of Suicide, Oh look another look at Moritz's funeral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 04:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10756341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slickarus/pseuds/Icarus
Summary: “Is it true, Ilse, that he’s lying in there without a head?”“He must have loaded it with water - there was blood splattered all over the cattails. His brains were hanging in the willows.”





	Dig Up Our Roses

**Author's Note:**

> A play inspired-fic, but you won't be lost if you've never seen/read it. The first two lines of dialogue are taken from the translation by Jonathan Franzen.

“Is it true, Ilse, that he’s lying in there without a head?”

“He must have loaded it with water - there was blood splattered all over the cattails. His brains were hanging in the willows.” Martha twisted her braid and looked back down at the slightly crushed petals scattered across the dirt. 

“Martha!” She jumped when she heard her name, but when she turned she was relieved to find Thea, whose cheeks were still red and puffed. Thea began to smile when she saw the girls. “Ilse! Thank God.”

“Where were you? I didn’t see you or your family.”

“My father didn’t want me to come, and no one blamed him. I snuck out.” She held a single flower in her hand and dropped it onto the dirt to join the others. “I tried to run here, but I had to stop several times. I kept crying when I thought about how horrible it was. Papa said he shot himself.” Thea’s shoulders shook and Martha wrapped an arm around her friend and tried to keep herself from crying, too. Ilse’s hands began to shake and she didn’t know what to do.

“It’s true,” she said, the words heavy on her tongue. “I saw him after.”  _ And before. _

“I would have been so frightened,” Thea wiped tears from her eyes. “I could never…” The three girls stared at the grass, all knowing but none saying what they knew she meant.

“You’ve grown so much, Thea,” Ilse said with half a smile on her face. “It hasn’t been very long, has it?” Thea shook her head.

“You’ve grown, too. Changed. Every day I see you, you’re more of a woman.”

“And I feel like more of a girl.” Martha’s eyes made their way back to the dirt covering the headless boy.

“I wish I could have seen him, too. Not after, but before. To tell him...to tell him  _ something _ to make him stay.”

“I don’t know what you could have said,” Ilse nearly whispered. “A boy starts thinking thoughts like he did, there’s no way to stop him. Bang.”

“I don’t know how to feel. I keep crying and crying but I was so cruel, wasn’t I? He was just some dope, wasn’t he?” Thea kicked a pebble with her toe. “Still, you can’t imagine the hole in my heart.”

“If it’s anything like the one in mine, I can.”

“We shouldn’t be so sad,” Ilse said, “It doesn’t do any good, does it?”

“No,” Martha agreed. “I don’t want to cry. I half want to join him, floating around on the wind.” Thea took her hand, Ilse her other.

“I want you to stay here.”

“I want that, too.” They stood there in a ring, hands clasping hands, girls being girls again. A circle above the boy, more powerful than prayer.

“But still,” Martha said. “We’ll plant flowers here.”

“Oh, yes,” said Thea. “Flowers every day. And they’ll grow and they’ll bloom and there won’t be death here anymore.”

“We’ll make them grow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> [Tumblr](https://thereinkiss.tumblr.com/) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/slickarus)


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